Measure For Measure
by Burnout'83
Summary: " Due to the 'slight' temporal anomaly caused by the great and infallible leader of Metal and Humankind's approach to time travel , Cameron landed at three AM in Red Valley sewage works..."
1. Chapter 1

"Cameron dear," General Connor ordered, "stop worrying and get back in the displacement equipment. Trust me, I know what I'm doing ," he grinned.

Due to the 'slight' temporal anomaly caused by the great and infallible leader of Metal and Humankind's approach to time travel , Cameron landed at three AM in Red Valley sewage works, two hundred and seventy one days before the great general's historic first recorded attendance at Red Valley High.

The extra months gave her plenty of time to infiltrate and study the behavior of her female peer group in school. Being the badass terminator she was, and still being slightly pissed with her Future John, Cameron formulated a little surprise for his teenage self.

There was no mention of tractors when they met.

* * *

The school bell rang and twenty minutes later it was all blue sky and soaring freedom. John and his new friend Cameron strolled past the last houses on the road . Tarmac turned to sand and the barking of the dogs in yards and driveways faded behind them . The track narrowed to a path and soon they were scrambling up the steep hill under Red Buttress Rock.

Cameron reassured John it would be a short cut from school back to his new home , avoiding the town center . He wouldn't be a moment late, and his mum would never know. It all sounded very reasonable to him.

John quickly discovered Cameron liked to talk. She'd not stopped talking since they'd got out of the school yard. She seemed to assume he wanted to be familiarized with every single detail of his classmates and Red Valley.

"Elanor Page, she's got a pierced belly button and butterfly tattoo..." Cameron danced breathlessly a step or two ahead of him leading him up the steep path through the rocks. " Vicky Bales, she's got this boyfriend , Robbie..."

John felt a growing sense of disappointment in his new friend. Cameron Phillips was turning out to be ... girly . Cameron did ballet, took piano lessons, baked cakes and now she was giving John a vocal tour of the womens clothing shops in Red. He stifled an internal groan and listened politely . She'd set a fast pace , he was sweating already and his leg muscles began to burn in protest as the hillside steepened . John let her get a couple of steps in front focused on the way her buttocks became outlined in her jeans when she bent down to scramble over the boulders.

When they got to a large flat outcrop of overhanging rock. Cameron lay down on her belly and crawled up to the edge. John did the same bringing his head level with hers. There was a fantastic view of the town and the track they had climbed. It shimmered like mirage on the rising heat. The last house they'd strolled past was six hundred meters away.

Cameron produced a water bottle out her schoolbag, took a sip and handed it to him. It had a bright orange flower painted on one side and a heart on the other . John winced slightly but was grateful of the fluid. It was strawberry soda.

She handed him a pair of small pink field glasses from her sack. " John this is so funny," she said, " look." Cameron pointed to the last house in the row John focused the field glasses.

It didn't appear anything out of the ordinary . It was a white clapboard house with a sprinkled lawn and white picket fence. A man in blue dungarees was mowing the lawn .

"He moved in fifty two days ago and I've been observing him. He's a supply teacher . Do you know ,he cuts the grass twice a week . When he's done grass cutting he trims the borders with a pair of large scissors."

"What's odd about that? "John kept on looking through the field glasses at the man mowing his lawn , trying to figure out what she was getting at. Out of the corner of his eye John noticed Cameron had reached down with her arm and was pulling something out from a fissure in the rock. Maybe it was a safe hiding place her best Beanie Baby collection. This was going to be so 'fun'. He sighed.

Cameron giggled."He's this total dork. Like he assumes regular grass cutting will assist his infiltration. He's been waiting for you to show up John Connor. "

As if he'd been caught in a blast of liquid nitrogen, John Connor felt the freeze and the familiar terror creeping over him . He lowered the field glasses and slowly turned his head . Cameron had shuffled about a meter away was now laying prone with a FMG 148 Javelin Anti Tank launcher on her shoulder.

Before he could say a word, the rocket shrieked off, hurtling down the hill towards the lawnmower man .

"That's so, _wow_ ! Hasta la vista Mr. Comartie, baby." She called after it.

On impact Cromartie's fuel cell exploded in whomph of white and yellow flame. Limbs ,casings and the lawnmower hurled hundreds meters up into the air wriggling around in the sky like burning white magnesium ribbon serpents thrown from a firework . The clapboard house disintegrated and was gathered up in a scorching hurricane and seconds later the gas fuel tank in the yard ruptured , sending a second, slower , dirty yellow, petroleum fireball mushrooming skywards. John watched as debris streaked across the clear blue leaving smoking trails on their return to earth.

Cameron put down the rocket launcher stared blankly at John and her eyes flashed blue as she spoke." I modified the shell using Thermite to ensure there will be no identifiable remains of the Triple Eight. Given the mixture of Coltan and Iriduim in its endoskeleton it will appear as if a meteorite impacted."

John's mouth dropped open ."You're a..."

Cameron blinked innocently. "John , I've been assigned to protect you."

John Connor couldn't get a single thought into gear let alone any words out of his mouth.

Cameron tilted her head "Like, earth to Salvation Of Mankind, hello."

She sat up and crossed her legs , put a finger to her mouth and examined John. Frowning in puzzlement she asked " John, so, do you think I should get a butterfly tattoo before I meet your mum? "

Perhaps just a little more harmless torment, how could a female terminator resist?


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey guys, many, many thanks for the support. Here's half of the next chapter.**

John and Cameron began jogging along the path under Red Buttress Rock. The path was wide enough so they could run side by . John caught glimpses of the road leading to the start of his block. His new home was less than a klick away.

"Cameron, what's a Triple Eight?"

Cameron's voice shuddered a little, "it's like a totally creepy Terminator."

"A totally creepy Terminator?"

"Uh huh ."

"So what model are you?"

"I'm like 715 ,"Cameron frowned.

"Is this going to be complicated for you?"

Cameron nodded .

"So er ,SkyNet , Judgement Day, it's going to happen again right, like, so when does it happen ?"

Cameron's face went blank. There was a long silence.

"Cameron?"

"John I'm doing maths here . Things have changed, it's not going to be like next week or anything , I don't think."

John went quiet for a while, and concentrated on running, Cameron stepped up the pace . They were five hundred meters from the start of the road . The path was getting less steep and broadening out. John glanced at Cameron. Before they'd started jogging she'd tied her hair back with a bright yellow headband. It had big plastic marigold sun on the side, smiling him. " Cameron why did Future Me send you exactly ?"

" Why not? You said I was the best soldier you'd g..."

Cameron tripped on a rock and she bounced and rolled down the track ahead sending up a cloud of dust.

John raced up to her and leaned forward . She was holding her right knee an looking up at him with pleading eyes .

"Are you Ok?" John panted.

She slowly lifted her hand off to reveal a tear in her jeans across her knee . " No, I've damaged my organic layer. "

"Is it serious?"

"John, I don't want to look ."

"Can you stand up?"

Cameron made futile attempt and sat back down again.

"What happened ?"

"You asked about Judgement Day, I was doing so much math, the thing that works out where my feet should go is messed up."

"You mean your proprioceptive coordination software?"

Cameron looked through him, blankly.

"Ok, the thing that makes your feet go where you want them to when you're running , like how long's it going to be out of action for?"

"I don't know ." Cameron shrugged and screwed up her face like her knee really hurt.

"Cameron can you walk?"

"Put your arm under me John , I'll try getting up"

John helped her up. Cameron had her arm around John's shoulder. Tentatively they tried taking a step forward together.

"Ow !" Cameron cried and limped a couple of paces on, "Gotta stop. John ,this is so not good." She leaned further in to him, fixing him with her big brown eyes before rubbing her head into his shoulder.

"Future John carried me five point seven kilometers ,in thirty eight minutes and seven seconds, it was awesome" She whispered.

"He did, I mean ,I do?" John asked ,staring down in amazement at the cascade of dark hair falling over his shoulder. A couple of stray strands ticked under his nose. Cameron smelled of strawberries and the wild honey he'd learned to dig out of tree hollows with a stick in Nicaragua as a kid . Terminators should not smell this good, he thought.

"Yes Future John did carry me." Cameron closed her eyes and smiled " It was like, through the middle of this totally wild plasma exchange . Metal had fixed batteries on top of Sentinel ridge. Future John ran with me all the way down Hines Valley to get inside the bunker before the SS20 took out Bone Mountain. He's so cool like that." She sighed and looked up at him with beatific innocence , "I'm not that heavy ," she added.

* * *

John strode out along the flat tarmac. Actually he was trying not to stumble . His back ached, it felt like he had a warm soft boulder his back, one that kept pressing various anatomically correct female body parts into him when he flagged . Cameron had her arms crossed over his chest and her legs wrapped around his lower stomach. Oddly, her damaged leg had stopped twitching and gripped as tightly the other leg around his abdomen. Every time it felt like she was slipping down his back , she hitched herself up again. It was quite agonizing for John when she did this.

"Cameron are you purring?" John gasped.

"Uh huh. So do I get to say it John?

"No , mum's going to think nuclear war's started and she'll be in full freak mode, so don't, please ."

"It's so cool though. Hey, I'm a like terminator so why don't I get to say it? Bob got to say it . That's so not fair."

"You've said it "like" ten times already . Cameron! Leave my hair ."

At the first house on the road, a large Doberman-cross leaped out of the drive and blocked their way. It glared at John , It's eyes full were of rabid bone-grinding insanity and it barred its slathering teeth at John . A deep grumbling snarl rumbled out of its muscular chest and it took a step forward pointing its tail to the ground.

"Now Chester , be a good boy for Camy and go on back inside, go on now- Chester !" - The dog turned around, glanced back over it's shoulder and trotted back to the cool shade of the garage.

That's Maisy Dillington's brother's dog. Maisy's going out with..."

"Robbie Lawson..." John sighed. " You went for a date with his brother, Louie. He's got bad breath and doesn't shower ."

"Hey you remembered, John. So, do I get to say it?"

"NO!"

Cameron dug her knees into John's side like he was a horse and John trudged on . Sweat ran down his forehead stinging his eyes. Blood pounded in his ears. She was so dammed heavy he couldn't believe it.

"Ok JayCee, how about " Come with me and we'll go shopping instead ", that's like friendly, huh."

The door to John's new flat was open and his mum was standing out in the road amongst the new neighbors They'd obviously noticed the one kilometer high mushroom cloud pluming over Red Buttress Ridge. Even from this distance John could see she had her arms folded and didn't exactly look amused.

"Omygad! blurted Cameron "This is so unreal, that's actually like _the_ Sarah Connor. Amazing! "


	3. Chapter 3

_OK - Cameron's a bimbo? No way . Let's find out what she's really been up to in Red._

_Lesson enough I think for young Connor. Now for his treat._

_(Make 'em laugh, make 'em cry.)_

Sirens were wailing all over Red . Sarah could hear an incoming, second wave of emergency vehicles out on the highway . The sky over her head was buzzing with choppers and streaking with military aircraft. Old folk , families and single mums with toddlers in their arms, groups of school kids about John's age , girls standing around in groups, boys on dirt bikes: The whole street was out in the road , watching the mushroom cloud billowing to mist over the hills . They'd got their radio's on outside, eagerly waiting for any scrap of news.

"It's official, Airforce One's up."

Shit! Someone had totally booted the top off the NORAD anthill . New Mexico was going to be crawling for weeks. Sarah thought.

"They've mobilized the National Guard ."

That was it . Sarah knew she and John were getting trapped like a rats in a barrel. Red Valley was being sealed off. There was no way out ,nowhere to run, and like hell Sarah would ever run without John anyway, but this was getting serious. Sarah tried to think desperately what to do, but all she could do was wait.

"Gotta be The Reds"

Sarah Connor listened to the grumbling voices and started shaking. She felt an arm pat her on the shoulder and she found herself looking into a kindly, grizzled face. A man in oily blue overalls with a hunting rife slung over his shoulder started trying to reassure her. "Lady I aint seen nothing like this since Korea, but don't you worry none. They're aint that many of us left around here, but them Ruskies, lady they gotta come through us first- aint that right Kenny ?"

"That's right Harry, gotta be them mam. All I say is : thank God they didn't hit our school." Kenny wore a check shirt and had the deep tan of a lifelong hill farmer. He carried a twelve gauge in his hands.

" Hey. It's gonna be Ok , we aint much, but we'll stand them off in the hills if it comes to it . We got a few Nam Boy's and Gulf Vets down in the town as well. I say if it does come to it , we can still give 'em one hell of a dogfight an' keep em off long enough for the Marines to get here. You'll be safe here honey . Might be called Red round here but it aint never gonna be red, huh "

Sarah nodded in shock.

"Kirsty, say, we can do with some help over here." Kenny waved his arm, and called to a group of women with kids who were standing a few meters away.

" You Ok ?" Sarah felt an arm on her shoulder . The woman , about same age as Sarah was carrying a kid maybe two years old in her arms. The little one had the pretty, dirty face, runny nose , 'standard issue' of all the Red Valley children. Other women and younger kids began moving towards Sarah.

" My son's out there." Sarah swallowed and wiped the corner of her eye.

"I got mine out there too . I'm prayin' she's alright." Kirsty replied.

Sarah looked helplessly at Kirsty. There was nothing she could do or say to make the situation any more bearable.

Kirsty broke the silence "She aint mine like, but since my ex gone she's been a godsend with the kids . Kirsty lowered her voice, " terrible thing with her father, and now this. What kind of animal does that to his own daughter? Kenny found her hiding in one of the barns seven months back. She didn't say nothing for weeks. She's from near L.A. "

Sarah tried to read Kirsty's face for a hint of what she was talking about. " Her father tried to hurt her?"

"Bastard works for the government, something to do with computers. Went totally crazy and tried to kill her. Poor angel . She don't ask for nothing, only dry place we got for her is my garage. She don't complain none, that's why we hidin' her here. Don't trust cops nor nobody when it comes to this"

There was a murmur of approving voices from the other mums.

"Hang in there Kirsty," one mum said " She's gonna be OK. Cameron gets a bit dizzy but she got basic common sense."

"If your boy's with Cameron , he'll be fine," another said to Sarah.

An older matriarch strolled up and joined the group. She had her hands on her hips and wore a no-shit expression on her face . She looked over the women like she was addressing her troops . " Hey , it's gonna be O.K . I can feel it in my bones: You know , I never told no one this before , but it's like when my Kenny came back from Korea . I knew he was coming back. I'm tellin' you now that girl's coming back, and if your boy's with her , he is too." The woman stared into Sarah with piercing dark brown eyes. "My Kenny don't drive much these days, he says that girl drives a tractor like a tank and she's strong as they come. What's your boy's name honey, I gonna pray for them both right now."

"John," Sarah whispered.

Sarah looked down to find a toddler clinging to her leg. Sacred eyes were looking up at her from a grubby face, and without thinking about it Sarah Connor protectively wrapped her arm around the child and stroked her hair. Sarah closed her eyes and could think of nothing except John when he was little.

Seconds ticked by .

* * *

First there was the sound of a barking dog, then something like a staggering donkey carrying a rider appeared out the heat haze at the end of the tarmac road.

"Cameron! Kirsty shrieked.

"John !" Sarah yelled.

"Cammy !" The girls that had been standing in a group were jumping in the air, hugging the boys . They boys got back on their bikes and kick-started up their engines an rode off towards them.

The matriarch grabbed Sarah's jacket for a second." See, told you honey , felt it in my bones . Now before you go running over there, come here. " She bent down and took the hand of the of the child that had been clinging to Sarah's leg. Released, Sarah sprinted with the rest of the folks towards the end of street.

When Sarah got to him she found John red- faced and sprawled on the road in exhaustion.

"Are you Injured!" Sarah yelled at John who was rolling around like he'd done a ten mile battle run.

John gave the thumbs up sign and clutched his chest panting for breath.

Sarah caught first sight of the brown eyed girl who was standing in front of her . Sarah's mind was in still in over-dive. "Are you injured!" she yelled at Cameron.

"I'm Ok , just hurt my leg a bit." The girl replied coolly "You're John's mum right?" For a second Cameron looked at Sarah and flashed a nervous smile then she flicked her head to one side and walked around her.

Sarah dragged John off the floor and John and hugged him so hard his bones nearly cracked.

"Mum..." John sounded like was about to say something very important when Sarah heard Harry's voice behind her. Sarah let go of John and turned to listen.

" OK everybody listen up: Government guy's just come on the radio. It aint The Reds, it's meteorite. So I say we all stand down and relax OK -Oh and some godamn computer centre in LA hit as well, so it musta broken up in the atmosphere. Only one person missing so far, no one else injured. They're all sayin' it's a miricle."

When Sarah turned around there was a group of boy's about John's age gathered around him ,and they had started showing him over their dirt bikes. John was standing at the front of one bike and he reached out his hand to blip the throttle.

"John?" Sarah asked , what was it you were going to say?

John glanced over all the faces of people gathered round. Cameron was lifting a toddler out of Kirsty's arms and holding the child on her hips. "Erm, nothing mum .. it can wait." He said.

"Hey dude you like ride?" one of the boys asked."

John nodded with a grin spreading on his face.

"Say, you got any PlayStation games ?" Another asked.

"Man, it's getting like a bit girly around here, say we split back to my place. Get on the back John."

For a moment John looked to Sarah for her approval. She swallowed and nodded. Slowly it dawned on Sarah. The girl he'd carried down off the hill was beautiful, and she obviously had thing for him . She kept looking at John , proudly, and Sarah could see Cameron had the hidden strength of all these people who'd learned to grab life, live clean and turn dirt into cents and dollars . And John, he suddenly had a life, a school, maybe friends even. She swallowed hard trying not to cry. Let the rich keep their mansion houses, this was Connor heaven, what John asked for as a kid. No terminators, no Judgement Day, No Fate.

As John was ridden away, Sarah spun around to see Cameron in the middle of group on women and children.

"John" Cameron called as the boys on the bikes rode past. " Hey, you want go out John ?"

"Sure , I do," John yelled off the back of the bike.

"Okay" Sarah sighed, knowing when to let nature take it's course, and she caught Cameron's eye just long enough to let her know. Sarah watched as Cameron smiled , then she bent down and pretended to frown at a toddler's face. She grabbed his hand . "You little scamp , if you want to live , you so come with me , right now ! Like I have never seen a face as dirty as that."


	4. Chapter 4

It was way past midnight . Cameron sat in the high branches of Mr. Chapman's tree and looked down on the houses her street.

Mr. Chapman was a "bit grumpy" but he was Ok. She decided.

Kirsty had finally got her act together and booted out her ex off the sofa and told him to go back to his flat and the kids had started sleeping again , there wasn't the yelling. He wouldn't hit Kirsty now, so there was no need to terminate him.

Cameron had got a dry garage, and Harry's wife , Annie, had found her some curtains for the garage windows. It was the best room she'd ever had apart from when John let her move into his quarters.

Annie fussed over her and it was a comparable experience to a human having a grandmother. Like did any other terminator in history ever have a grandmother?

She recalled Annie's voice- " You just got to have a sense of humor, honey . You get to my age, most of the things you worried over when you were young about weren't worth the worry." Cameron smiled. She had massive things to calculate probabilities for, but Annie was correct about how you coexist with "worries" on a daily basis. Humans were much more insightful in this time .

She could pay her way by babysitting and helping Harry and Kenny mend tractors.

She was doing well at school. Other kids responded positively and she'd even been asked on dates. No male was like John of course, but preliminary non sexual dating was interesting.

There was a strong potential peer group here for John to integrate with and develop social skills.

No one here had pulled a face, freaked and called her Metal . They just let her infiltrate and her systems ran "clear as mountain spring".

The closest human phrase describing her current state of self awareness was ,she liked these people, more importantly she liked who she was here. Which was kind of weird and unexpected , but she was getting used to it.

John was "so" going to get a lesson in arrogance retraining , but Cameron could see further than that , to a way of using her new personality to deal with Sarah. Cameron loved Future Sarah, but not as she was now.

Perhaps...

* * *

Cameron and a group of her school friends were hanging around outside Kirsty's. Sarah made like she was doing something in the yard and listened in.

There was a chorus of "_Come on and rescue me_."

"Like I hurt my leg, so hero carry me down off a mountain. Cameron you are such a tramp!"

"Oh yeah Daisy, so why is it I get the weird guys ?"

"Like?"

" Louie ,that friend of you brother's. He was this total computer nerd. I swear to god he kept checking me out for somewhere to plug in his keyboard . I am not that kind of girl ."

There was a shriek of laughter.

"OK What about Darren Winters:" Hey I god a Dodge Ram, full Hemi" , and I'm like- Darren that is so not a Dodge Ram Hemi, that's your dad's hay truck with a sticker on the windshield and like boy get down, you're dribbling on my shoes ..."

Sarah went inside and took up position beside the window . She had clear sight of the house where John was, and she debated whether she should go over and drag him out. There were many things bothering Sarah and she could see 'the signs' . Random meteorites, one exploding supply teacher due to start at John's school tomorrow , and of course one sizable mushroom cloud two blocks away , then there was the 'fun' nuclear alert, and hey, the Connors only been in Red Valley for forty eight hours . There was something else, a phrase Cameron had used . But no way. Sarah put it from her mind, even given the circumstances , that had to be pure paranoia.

There was a knock at the door. Cameron was on the doorstep .

"Hi Mrs. Reese," Cameron beamed. "It's not much , just a welcome from the neighborhood." She held out a box of home baked cookies.

"Oh thanks , that is so sweet."

Cameron stood with her arms behind her back . Her head was bobbing around trying to look past Sarah into the house .

"Is everything OK Mrs. Reese ? Would you like me to fetch John for you , I'll go get him if you like."

"No it's OK Cameron."

" So?" Cameron carried on bobbing her head and smiling.

"Oh I'm sorry, would like to come in? "

Excitement flashed across Cameron's face" You mean I can actually come into your house?"

"Yes, of course you can"

Cameron rushed past, giving Sarah a brief hug , then Cameron was in her front room , having sort of 'bounced' into it.

" This is so cool. You've got so much space." Cameron was like a mini-whirlwind, touching furniture and shelves. " Like you do your own upholstery Sarah, and you've been fixing the walls as well. That's amazing!"

Woosh ! Cameron shot into the kitchen and gazed in wonder at the Connor kitchenette- diner. "This water , it's is so warm, " Cameron said , turning on the hot tap and testing the temperature with her finger. "Oh wow! You got a fridge!" She ran her finger over the fridge door. Then she was bounding to the bottom of the stairs. "Can I ?" She asked. Before Sarah could refuse, Cameron gave a little shriek of delight and raced up the stairs , . Sarah shook her head and followed her up to the landing.

Cameron was standing outside the Box Room her hands clasped together . She was obviously awestruck on Sarah's spare room.

"This is so wonderful Sarah! John told me you'd let me have the spare room. I've never had room of my own before . I'll stack the boxes against that wall there , you'll be able to get to them ."

Sarah coughed, "erm Cameron, I think there's been a misunderstanding here, I get your circumstances , and I don't think it's right that you're having to stay in Kirsty's garage, but we just can't honey..."

Cameron didn't seem to be listening and moved off to the bathroom. "Oh wow , you've got a shower, like you've actually got a shower!" There was the sound of taps turning and water running and the toilet flushing.

"Cameron," Sarah called in a firmer voice . "Look I'm really sorry here Cameron."

Cameron appeared from the bathroom. Her bounce had gone and she gazing looking down at floor. "You're going to tell I can't have my own room. That's Okay."

"Cameron it's .. you wouldn't understand, we can't. I'm so sorry."

"I'm not lying to you Mrs Reese. John did say I could stay here."

"I'm sure he didn't mean it like that."

"He so did."

"Well ,when did he say that?"

"15th August 2027, General Connor said "you can stay with me and my mom in Red Valley" ," she shrugged and beamed a huge smile. "So, here I am."

Sarah staggered back and started reaching inside her jacket for her weapon.

Cameron held out her hands. "Hey ! I'm on your side Sarah, please, I hate getting shot . That's a Glock 18, 9mm right? That's neat . "

"It damn well is a 9mm, " hissed Sarah. "I'm Sarah Connor, who the hell are you?"

"I'm Cameron, Cameron Phillips, Tech Com. Reporting for duty mam."

"Do you have a rank?"

"Not exactly. Like not at the moment."

" Why the hell are you in my house?"

"Well John thought..."

"You mean John in 2027?"

"Future John thought maybe you were getting kind of stressed, and you needed a babysitter for Now John, and if I'm here, you could maybe go out more.

"John Connor needs a babysitter, so you travel back in time, so I can go out more, and that's it?"

"Not exactly . John likes it here , and Future John's worried you'd freak and drag him off to Mexico or the MoJave or some place like that.

"Why would I freak?"

"Erm because there was like this Tripple Eight that zeroed you."

"Whats a Tripple Eight?"

"Like Bob, only more humongous."

"Like Bob only more humongous? You telling me there's been a terminator out there? "

"Yeh, but Trips aren't as bad as a 1000 . They are so gross! John hates 1000's," Cameron nodded seriously.

"But, I thought we changed everything . What happened?"

" I don't do tech stuff Sarah, but like you know you're called Reese now, Skynet went through what was left of the FBI computer records, so it knows you're here, you're in the school records as well , so Skynet cross-referenced, and it sent a Tripple Eight to the school. It was going to try to take out John tomorrow."

Sarah put her hand to her mouth.

"Don't worry I hit the Trip with a Thermite shell on the way home from school this afternoon and it totally exploded. Everything's Ok now Sarah ."

" No it's not okay Cameron, SkyNet knows were here!" Sarah yelled , "and John sent_ you_ to protect us!"

"No stress. Sammy Rogers and his uncle was going for a weekend to LA so I hitched a ride . I got to SkyNet and blew it up this version before it went totally nuts next week."

Sarah swallowed and stared in shock.

"Oh and I changed your name to Baum in all the records . So, like I said , you're safe for a while. John says, apart from you, I'm the best soldier he's got."

Sarah went and sat on the chair and put her head in her hands, "Cameron just give me a minute here."

Cameron stood by the window. " This is so great I've got a 127.3 degree view of the hills. I can get on the roof easy enough, that gives me full 360," she said, glancing up. She tapped the wall adjoining John's room. "This is hollow , I can fit my heavy stuff fin here . If John's in danger I can get right through this in 0.57 seconds ."

Sarah's jaw dropped.

"Sarah, like chill. We got a phase three Plasma Rifle we can pick up sometime next week . That's for if one of those T1000's show up and makes like Edward Scissorhands . I can handle anything else without one."

Sarah seemed to be nodding.

" I do patrol three times a night, so John will be OK. I'm going to take him out lots of places. I thought we'd start with the Cinema, I'll make sure he's home for nine, and I promise he'll do his homework, we haven't got any tonight. "

"Cameron you're not human are you ?"

Cameron frowned. "No ."

"You're a terminator right?"

"Uh uh," Cameron frowned again as she crouched down to lift up the bed and check under it . The previous occupant had left half a pizza on a plate about two weeks ago and some old socks. "That's is so disgusting, why do humans even do stuff like this?"

"Oh my god, it's happening again."

"Hey don't worry Sarah I'll clean around when I get back. I don't sleep but I'll be quiet ." Cameron answered brightly.

"So can have the room ?"

Sarah put her palm to her forehead . Cameron took it as a yes.

"Thank you so much, this is so great . You know what ? Kirsty can park her truck in the garage again . Like Mr Chapman over the road, he gets mad and shouts at us when she parks it opposite his drive. It's not like Kirsty's fault ,he just can't drive that well. So remember don't, park your tuck too near, Ok . He gets kinda grumpy."

"Cameron ... " Sarah mumbled.

"Sarah I've totally got to go , babysitting at Marcie's, that's like Kirsty's cousin , she wants to go to the Mall for couple of hours."Back at seven ,bring you some more Brownies back , please tell John to be ready , maybe make him shower. " Aint no cake 'cept what you bake."Cameron called back over her shoulder as she flew down the stairs and out of the front door.


	5. Chapter 5

BBBBBBBBBB... _( Say it out loud and make the B's quick, like a machine gun , before reading , please. Yes, I know it's very silly , but I promise you will enjoy it . Just make sure there is no one else around or do it quietly.)_

:)

* * *

17: 04: 47

There is nothing like small controlled nuclear explosion in the neighborhood combined with the a dramatic rescue of a local female to instantaneously bond a teenage male to his new peer group.

If we could squint and look into John's new friends bedroom and imagine it in FutureTime , it might appear to be occupied a Tech Com unit at play . Bike jackets, graffitied walls, bits of motorcycle engine parts, broken furniture and old armchairs, a couple of BB guns on a table top looking very much like the real thing . The center of the room was of course , in 1999 a PlayStation , and John was trying very hard not to show off his tactical military prowess to his new friends . For the record the game in play was Medal Of Honor.

Joe, one of the five boys in the bedroom leaned his chair back so he could see out of the window. "Incoming. Like check it out. Total MILF alert!"

The boys started moving to the window but John had the control and couldn't take his eyes off the game. "You got eyeball there Joe ?" John grinned keeping up with the banter.

"Like leather jacket, dark hair, hands on hips now staring up at window. Whoah totally zeroed . Actually that's real scary smile."

John nodded knowingly " Joe, is the smile say, like when a crock's got one those mouth-cleaning birds picking raw flesh from between its teeth?"

"Poetic man, but I'd say that's reasonably accurate description." Said Joe ,backing a way from the window . The other boys crawled on the bed up to the widow ledge to take a peek."

John frowned "Erm that would be my mom."

"OK lets reconfigure the previous statement, like female parent alert ."

"Staus?"

"Search and destroy mode, with extreme prejudice. "

Four heads ducked down as if a nine millimeter round had crashed through the window.

"John," Billy called over his shoulder in a harsh whisper, " you done anything to really piss her off recently."

"Hmm maybe" , John made like he was trying to think . "Pissed-off-ness on a scale of one to ten?"

"That's would be "ten" there Johnny boy."

"Yep you're on a Defcom Five here man, you might want to like split , say for a week."

The doorbell rang , and didn't stop ringing.

_ "The best victory is when the opponent surrenders of its own accord before there are any actual hostilities..._" Sun Tzu ( Attributed approximately 100BC )

_"Ok guys, it's been good. I'm totally busted here. Guess I'll see you sometime ." _John Connor ( Attributed 1999 AD )

Future leader of mankind briefly tried to to sink into the armchair and consider possible exits, but realistically he knew there was no escape : That was Sarah Connor out there . For the welfare of his new comrades and friends, John Connor bravely lay down the games control and began slowly walking towards the front door and ringing bell . It was a long walk.

* * *

BBBBBBA- _go on, do it again, do it again :_)

19:01:25

During his formative combat training John Connor had frozen with fear and shock . This is natural set of physiological responses a worthwhile soldier learns to overcome . In the jungles and deserts our future leader had gazed with deep reverent awe at the natural splendor of the diversity of life on the planet's surface, and in its oceans. But he'd never felt the combined force of shock and awe running through the relatively narrow channel of the organic processing unit that is the human brain . He stood unable to move when Sarah opened the front door and Cameron entered the room. Cameron said "Hi" , her smile gave birth to a thousand stars. There was a long silence broken by a skull piercing yell.

" Cameron you are absolutely not going out dressed like that ! Upstairs, get those off now, and get your hair back to normal. "

Of course five minutes later there was a terminator, having stuck her head under the shower nozzle, wrapped in a bath towel sulking in the bathroom.

"I only wanted to look good for John, Marcie like did my hair as a favor, she's a hairdresser . She lends me clothes.. All the other girls wear strapless for dates. This is so tight " Cameron called back through the bathroom door.

Sarah Connor glared at John rolled her eyes at the ceiling . "I don't believe I'm even doing this."

"Cameron this is Red Valley hickstown , not the Academy Awards."

"Hey don't call it a hickstown ,I like it here."

"Cameron please... John , help me out here ." John's eyes were still glazed over but if Sarah had noticed ,it hadn't sunk in and she carried on talking. "She's going to get zeroed by every male with a pulse within a fifteen mile radius, It'll be like a goddamn war zone around her by ten o'clock. John ! "Sarah snapped her fingers.

"Whha...?" John tied to reply

"John," Sarah tried in a soft whisper reminiscent of jungle warfare levels of verbal communication.

"Huh , Oh erm ,well she did look pretty good Mom."

"John , Sarah continued to whisper " Right now I'm not even buying she's able to protect you, she's not exactly, a proper terminator is she?What if we send her back, you know with a note from you to you . Maybe you'll send a more suitable model, you know like another Bob. Bob was OK wasn't he?"

"How do we send her back?"

"I got a plan : You order it into the basement , I'll concrete it in, first thing in the morning . She can shut down. She wont mind. "

A cabinet door slammed in the bathroom

"Shssh she can hear you mom . I promised her a date."

Sarah Connor folded her arms and snarled." OK you want a date with Cameron. Fine. I'm coming with you. Negotiate with it."

"Cameron , erm like mom says we can still go out if she can come with us. "

"Oh awesome,I hang around here for two hundred and seventy one days and get to go out with your mom!"

"No er ,we'll go out together and mom will just be hovering around , you know back up. She's surveillance trained, you won't notice her, much."

"Like _I _won't notice your mum, genius ? Jaycee you negotiate the exclusion zone with your Mom and I'll consider it."

Sarah held up two fingers and she tugged at her jeans and pointed at the bathroom door .

"That's at a minimum of two meters and she says you can borrow some of her clothes."

Cameron contemplated silently on the other side of the bathroom door for about thirty pounding beats of young Connor's heart.

"Okay terms for tonight are acceptable. I'm coming out."

John gave a massive sigh of relief and was greeted by a wet haired Cameron wearing a frayed striped bath towel emerging from the bathroom. John sort of flung himself back from her against the wall. She definitely grinned at him when she came through the gap. Oddly , he found himself considering her feet as she left a trail of wet prints on the landing carpet . Her feet and ankles were perfect.

"This way young lady" Sarah gestured to her bedroom.

* * *

"So I can like borrow anything in here for tonight?"

"Within reason." Came the curt reply.

Cameron's cheery voice "Okay ."

"So Cameron what would you like to wear? You might wanna a try a bra for starters."

"Ill take this.."

"these and.."

"...do you mind Sarah, I absolutely have to have those , they are my size."

John heard the sound of a cyborg getting dressed with inhuman speed and precision.

"Thank you Sarah. Your kindness and understanding in this matter is appreciated." She said twenty seconds later with unbelievable controlled diplomacy.

"What about this, is it spare?"

"Well.. I suppose so."

The bedroom door opened . Cameron emerged dressed in Sarah's spare faded blue gray tee shirt, her spare leather Jacket, jeans and bike boots. She pulled back the slide on Sarah's spare Glock checked the breech before concealing it in her inner Jacket pocket. Cameron marched forward with a deadpan expression and deliberately turned robotically at at right angles to face John. She made a faint smile only he saw, and she winked at him .

"Shall we go now John? "she asked holding out her hand.

At that moment John Connor heard a hundred thousand angels in heaven-above simultaneously performing their version of BBBBBBADTHEBONE. :)

_Cheers and really , thank you for reading. I'll update in a while._


	6. Chapter 6

The main road in and out of Red Valley was gridlocked . Red was experiencing a tourist boom due to the 'meteorite impact' and if anyone wanted make a (considerable) quick buck, in dirt town, in New Mexico all they had to do was start the Internet rumor that a UFO had crash- landed nearby and there was government cover-up .The usual Roswell crowd responded by besieging Red, turning the little town into a spontaneous UFO convention.

Out on the streets vendors were pushing handcarts selling wobbly-bug-antenna head-gear, confectioners were walking around with trays of green iced M&M-dotted space cake , and Red Valley Cinema had hurriedly dusted off their film reels and were presenting an all-night showing of all things space- related: everything from Armageddon, to Star Wars .

The pavements were thronged with groups of often overly hairy, brightly dressed , excited humans, (some wearing wobbly bug antenna headgear ) , who were expecting to see the sky to shudder , and maybe for an alien star cruiser, ( one such, having navigated the depths of deep space for light years at unimaginable speeds searching for intelligent life ), to materialize especially for them, of course, only to find Life on our boring little planet is full of such disappointments, like not winning the lottery either, when it doesn't happen.

The problem of too many people in such a small space wasn't confined to the pavements. It had a serious effect on the traffic beyond grid-locking the road system. UFOligists were trying to multitask . Drivers were keeping one eye on the traffic and the other was watching the skies. The effect of this split in concentration was the traffic erratically lurched forward and there were a number of minor impacts when it abruptly stopped. Fortunately it was going to be a clear night, and most space -nuts and their vehicles were heading away from the town to spend the night the hills.

This still wasn't good for Sarah Connor who was at the wheel of her SUV, locked into a slow moving convoy of camper vans and cars trundling around the town center. To make matters more fractious and tense inside her SUV , John appeared to be being 'slightly' overprotected by his new-found , and exasperatingly talkative and affectionate cyborg female bodyguard.

The car behind Sarah gently bumped into the back of her, again . "For God's sake!" Sarah banged her fist down on the top of the steering wheel steering wheel and glared up at the sky out of the windshield.

"Mum, just chill, please don't get out of the car."

"Yeh well, do that again buddy , just one more time. I've got a goddamn terminator in here, and I'm sending her out !" Fortunately Sarah was shouting into the rear view mirror and the windows were wound up.

Cameron and John glanced at each other and rolled their eyes , synchronized and skywards.

John didn't mind the sudden minor impacts at all . Every time Sarah had made a turn or there was a minor bump, the side of his thigh pressed into Cameron's. Cameron pretend not to notice and didn't make any attempt to move it away. To test her response ( for purely scientific reasons , as we all know, even from this early age, our great General was possessed of tireless interest in all matters relating to AI research ) John held his leg against Cameron's for moment longer than was conventionally necessary, duly noting Cameron's thigh felt indistinguishable from a human female's. Her arm was outstretched protectively over the back seat and he could feel her wrist and hand on the back of his head. Every time they made contact , this too felt like warm, normal skin. She smelled, exquisitely fresh and clean , perhaps she exuded a pheromone attuned to his specific senses, which of course he would have to ask about when out of earshot of Sarah.

It was utterly amazing how Cameron knew the names and life stories of so many people in Red and where they lived. For example "Monica Hewitt lived at Number 17a Red Hills Avenue , it was just over there , she'd bought a job -lot of Max Factor and Tressme when a shop in the mall closed down." Monica had got a training place at Rouge, the salon in The Mall, being a trainee beautician was so cool "... John just listened, enthralled by the sound of Cameron's voice, it was like hearing blended notes and the melody of a pleasant stream, and when she turned her head and smiled at him and it felt like he was eating the most delicious, warming chocolate .

"Come on !" Sarah yelled and simultaneously blared her horn at the car in front .

John felt Cameron's fingers begin playfully scratching the back of his head. They they worked down to behind his ear , like he was a dog. When Sarah wasn't looking in the rear view, two antenna fingers appeared on the top of John's head and wiggled . He could see them in the rear view and Cameron kept a straight face all the time until he snorted down a laugh. It was contagious and Cameron spluttered out too , and both of them put their hands to their mouths trying not to turn red in the face.

A pair of fierce green eyes appeared in the rear view. They were the kind of dangerous eyes that emerge as the form of a large pissed-off feline pushes its nose out through the foliage in the jungle and begins walking towards you. John immediately twisted his body away from Cameron.

"What's funny?" Sarah snapped.

Cameron pulled her hand back , gestured out of the window and instantly came up with a convincing cover story. " Like all these guys think it's a crashed UFO and they are soo serious about it. It's so not a UFO , and they don't know and we do, and they all think it's a government cover-up and it's only like some stupid Trip that got fragged."

"And that's funny?"

"If you are an infiltrator, yes. Trips are total duuritoheads and I think most UFO freaks are Anoraks ." Cameron frowned and looked out of the window. There was some guy dancing on the pavement in an Aluminum suit - "Like "hi" tinfoil man." She said quietly .

John stifled back another laugh.

The convoy lurched away and stopped abruptly as it started. Sarah tried to get a grip and John could feel the Sarah Connor head of steam building. To break the tension John asked Cameron seriously: "So do you think think there's any life out there , you know on other planets?"

Glanced up, her eyes flashing mischief ." Hum maybe. Say John, in the future, we had this one guy who claimed he'd been abducted by aliens."

"Go on," John's eyes widened in wonder .

Cameron narrowed her eyes "He said they look like something like giant teddy bears..."

"Teddy bears?"

"Yeah." Cameron kept a straight face, " it was a close encounter of the furred kin...d . Connor!" she giggled and shoved him on the shoulder ," you are so _gullible_." John playfully pushed her back and it appeared they were about to start wrestling and messing in the back seat.

"Will you two kids pack it in and sit still !" Sarah yelled , going into auto-parent mode.

When she wasn't looking Cameron shoved him again on the shoulder.

* * *

Dinkey's was , in spite of the name, the largest , most vacuous, commercial diner in town , and as the out-of-town crowd made for the hills, the tables emptied back to their usual Friday night straggle of regulars, who couldn't think of a more imaginative place to go. As promised , Sarah sat two tables away from John and Cameron. Sarah twisted in her seat and flinched every time they one touched the others arm or they went low to the table in an amused huddle . They were becoming bolder increasingly oblivious to her's or anyone else's presence. What the hell were they constantly talking about ? How long does an Infiltrator's power cell last? She wondered.

Sarah realized was the only person sitting at a table alone in the whole place. Even middle aged men termed as 'sad' , might not have been making conversation , but there was some invisible nexus that bound them together. She hadn't even this tenuous connection, so she was grateful when a couple in their mid fifties asked if the space at her table was spare. The guy gestured with his tray as his wife dragged a toddler along and heaved him up in the seat next to her opposite Sarah ."This is harder work than I remember." The woman said.

Sarah stared at the child who looked like he'd just woken up . For a moment he reached out his arms for her then frowned, before trying to climb over the table to get to her. He was expertly stopped by by the lady.

"You on your own?' The guy asked.

"Nope chaperon driver- those two," Sarah replied nodding to John and Cameron.

"Good looking couple." The woman said, casually grabbing the toddler by his jacket collar and getting him to sit down again. It was a sort of synthetic mini- bikers jacket. Sarah smiled diplomatically.

The woman went straight into conversation as if she knew Sarah in the way people of this generation do. " Daughter in law needs a break- she's at LA University, final year . You know what ? Some computer got confused and thought we'd entered a contest and won free tickets to Red Valley Park, the company wouldn't take no for an answer - our son's in 2nd Airborne . Never doing this again -gonna need another holiday after this ,you seen the weirdos and traffic out there?

"It's not so bad ." The guy said taking a bite out of his burger.

"Hey Jimmy's been fishing- I'm the one doing the work ," the woman feigned an angry expression in the direction of her husband.

"He's cute." Said Sarah simply, regarding the child.

"This is Deck and he's a handful aren't you eh. That's why we're giving mommy a break."

The kid made another attempt to clamber over the table and get to Sarah. It was obvious he was getting more fractious.

"Okay big fella , come on." Sarah said resignedly. Maybe ten minutes and they'd go, anything for some peace and quiet.

The child quickly relaxed in Sarah's lap and sat up watching his grandparents eat and he calmly took nibbles out of his chocolate muffin. Sarah knew the drill, do not allow chocolate hands to make contact with clothing, prepare paper napkins in readiness.

The child leaned forward to the table and became excited by Sarah's cutlery - He grabbed up a clean spoon and banged it on the table.

"Metal!" He said ,banging it again as if he'd just discovered a terrifying but wonderful new material.

" Derek, you stop this right now," his grandmother said sternly . "It's the only word he knows." She said apologetically to Sarah.

Cameron looked up from John and tilted her head in genuine curiosity.


	7. Chapter 7

OK guy's a little bit more. Some of you wanted Jameron , so here's a little J-C tenderness, I guess there will be more later.

Before mankind had thought of the concept of time Red Buttress Rock was already a natural and ancient sundial . This morning as it had done every day for millions of years , a patch of shade moved around its base. Before the burning sun rolled over , snakes slithered under rocks coiling down to whatever snakes dream about during the heat of the day, and everything else that could survive up here dug itself in . They were waiting for the cooling darkness to arrive, as it always did, so they could go out and hunt one another with heat traces and infra red . Life in Red Rocks had evolved into a precise, balanced, organic machine.

Down in the valley there was the neat crater that had been the destroyed Triple Eight's former residence. Lines of police tape kept sightseers at bay, (and the very clumsy ones from falling into the crater ), and the previous day's carnival of curious tourists and government officials had moved off. Red Valley was returning to being a normal, nondescript, under-the-radar town in New Mexico . It was very peaceful under Red Buttress Rock that morning.

Cameron and John were checking the weapons cache on the sandstone ledge. Everything was exactly as Cameron had left it when she'd destroyed Cromartie. John remembered how she'd tidied her rocket launcher away and gently lowered it by its straps into the crevice . She picked up a one tonne boulder and placed it on top of the cache. This morning Cameron could tell the boulder hadn't been moved but she lifted it up anyway to check underneath , and having found everything to be satisfactory she gently placed the boulder back over the hole.

"That's it , weapons cache checked," she said, sitting down crossing her legs and resting her hands on her knees . She glanced up at John and didn't look away.

John didn't quite know what to say or to do next. There had been something disturbing watching Cameron's delicate body moving large blocks of stone as if it they were garden ornaments and now she was looking at him...strangely. _Terminators shouldn't appear that beguiling and inviting to sit next to_ , he thought

Cameron blew her fringe out of her eyes . Strands of hair lifted and she trapped John in her full soft-brown-eyed gaze. A tiny smile curled in the corners of her mouth. "Hey," she said, and took off her jacket. She rolled it up and placed it behind her. She lay back and wriggled to make he herself comfortable . When she was comfortable she put her hands behind her head and gazed up at the clear blue sky.

"What you doing?" John asked.

"Hmm , just chilling ,storing up some sun and sky in a bock of spare memory " . Cameron reached over and picked a grass stem from the edge of the sand , put it in between her teeth and gently nibbled it and appeared to be contemplating something.

"Chilling is important, you should try it,"she nodded her head to indicate the space next to her.

John shrugged, took of his jacket , placed it next to her head and cautiously shuffled up close. He could feel her hips and shoulders pressing against his, and her warmth along his side . Strands of Cameron's hair blew against his forehead cheek in the faint breeze. There was a sort of vibration , like a deep purring.

"Did you do this on your other dates?" John asked.

She shook her head and grinned,"like no."

"About those other dates?"

"Mmm that's for me to know Connor. You send me back nine months too early, there's all these guys asking me out ,and you're not around, so what's a drop-dead 715 infiltrator supposed to do?" Cameron shook out her hair and wrinkled her nose.

John's face dropped like she'd announced a direct hit on a favorite aircraft carrier in the future. Cameron realized she'd overstepped the mark quickly added "Hey don't get a complex I only purr for you , it's sub-acoustic vibration, you can detect it as a resonance in your bone. Future John says it helps him relax . He always has such important things to worry about." She added with what could have been a playful sideways glance.

"Huh?"

"Sometimes I have to stay around Future John 24-7 and he gets kinda cranky and wired with me being there all the time , so," she reached out a finger ran it through a lock in Now-John's hair, " so, we came to an agreement ."

"What was that ?"

"We have a full proper chill . It also prevents Future You from falling out of bed when you are having The Freaking-Hell Nightmare."

"The Freaking-Hell Nightmare?

"Yeah it's the really gross one where you start rolling around , then you snort and ", she put on a human female's parody of a deep male voice, "you groan and go like Cameron, huh Cameron. Where's my leg ? Where's my leg Cameron, Cameron?"

"My Leg?"

"Yeah , you know, your prosthetic leg . You have this recurring dream you've left it in the weapons cache in your second ex wife's quarters and we have to go back and retrieve it, and she's still really pissed at you."

John swallowed.

"John" Cameron giggled " relax it's just a nightmare...you don't have a wife."

"That's Ok then. Er what about my leg?"

Silence ,and John shifted about uneasily next to her.

Cameron flashed a hopeful smile , "the future's not set ," she replied with what sounded like profound machine sincerity . Cameron's Jaw wobbled and she pulled her lips tight, her body began to shake and she snorted and burst out laughing "Connor! what did I say last night , you're so going to have to wise up."

"You mean I don't have an artificial leg in the future," John sighed with relief,

"John- you'd got two legs, maybe not all your toes, but you were definitely a biped the last time when I left you. Fooled you again."

Cameron reached out an arm behind his head and turned to examine him. Her brown eyes were lit with a mixture of calmness and curiosity . He felt her finger tips stroke his shoulder.

John coughed and cleared his throat.

"You know what, Cameron, this- you teasing me."

"Hum?" Cameron pretended not to notice.

" I'm so gonna get you back" He said quietly.

" Sure, just don't try it right now John."

"Why" John asked.

Carmon feigned a sad frown and as if offering sympathy stroked the side of his cheek ."Because it would be an immediate, obvious , hence futile retaliation. You must always wait for the optimum opportunity and strike."

"Something like this?" John stuck out his tongue at her . Before he could react she moved her face in close and he felt a playful lick on across tip of his tongue .

"Huh , what did you that for?." He said drawing his head back .

" Like counter retaliation dude. In combat the least expected response is often the most successful "

Cameron shuffled on the ground some more . She reached up and gently drew his head down onto her shoulder and wrapped her arm around his back . John nestled against her, his on her upper chest. His arm rested across her stomach.

"Did you enjoy the date last night Cameron?" He mumbled . Watching her breasts rise and fall with her breathing.

She craned her neck to look at him, "I did but there's something I want to tell you. It's about last night."

"Is it important?"

She answered his question with another. " This afternoon, what were you planning to do John?"

"Well, I'm going out on Jake's spare dirt bike with the guys and we're riding Red Ridge, no helmets as far as the track goes into Red Pines Forrest they've got some weed planted out there and a still, and then maybe ..."

"You are so not doing that Jaycee." Cameron's 'teenage girl' voice didn't change but it carried smooth quiet menace , and her arm gently tightened around him. Even if he wasn't kidding around about the bike ride he'd have got the message.

"So what are we doing?" John asked.

Cameron reached into her jacket with her free hand , pulled out her cell and checked the battery level. " John you know I offered to babysit for the couple me you and your mum met in the diner last night, in case they needed a break?"

"You mean the old couple with the weird kid. The one who threw thew his chocolate muffin at you- like, why even did you offer to babysit for them ?"

"Mr and Mrs Reese and their grandson Derek. There's a high probability they will be contacting me within the next hour."

"Why?"

"Yesterday Mr. Reese got a fly fishing hook caught in his ear. Did you notice his swollen right ear lobe. It is infected . The bacterium causing the infection will have multiplied overnight and he will require minor medical treatment in Red Hospital .The waiting time and treatment will take up to five hours. Mrs. Reese will accurately predict Derek will get bored and be a hazard in a hospital environment and they will ask for our help . Because our skills are in high demand we will charge ten dollars an hour to babysit Derek. Well have to take him out and further expenses will be required. We will have cash and a legitimate reason from your mum to spend quality time together. How hard can it be protecting a two year old? "

"Cameron ," said John smiling and snuggling deeper and more contentedly into her shoulder.

"What?"

"You are so sneaky."

"Thank you John."

"Cam, do you think it's odd them being called Reese?"

"Odd ?" Cameron glanced down at the Future Leader of Mankind . He was snuggling the side of his face into her Coltan shoulder joint. Her eye was caught by the movement of a small lizard behind him. The startled lizard paused in mid sprint to weight the couple up. As if making a brief alien greeting to Cameron it raised it's front leg , flicked it's tongue and darted back into the spiky foliage and red sand . _Up here it was like being in another time on another planet. They were going to babysit John's future uncle_ . Everything seemed perfectly normal to Cameron.

"Like not really" , she replied and ran her fingers over his shoulder, declining to explain exactly who Derek Reese was , not wishing to spoil the moment.


	8. Chapter 8

_Thank you so much for all the unexpected and kind comments. I am sorry for not updating earlier, but I'm not really a compulsive writer and I have to be in the mood , you know. _

_Two part and I've got Pt. 2 nearly done. _

_"Can you guys all say Pineapple Chunks ?"_

**Pineapple Chunks . Part 1.**

"You can check out any time … "

No time ago.

Little Derek Reese was soundly asleep with his arms around Cameron's neck . He was sweaty-headed, grubby faced and snoring loudly into her shoulder. _Target so identified,_ she'd thought to herself when she'd lifted him up to carry him through the hospital and return him to his grandparents.

"Has he been any trouble?" Inquired Grandma Reese . Her voice carried a tone of natural suspicion .

"No, none at all ," replied Cameron , smiling plausibly. "He er, even learned a couple of new words today." She added, innocently.

One hour earlier.

John scratched the side of his neck and glanced over his shoulder to see if Little Derek was holding up okay in the trunk . When they had been ridden off the highway Little Derek been thrown over the back of the car seats and landed harmlessly in a pile of dirty clothing and scattered used bills. He was half-covered by the open black holdall . All in all Derek seemed to be enjoying the kidnapping- hostage experience so far.

Three seriously stressed-out hold-up artists were pointing their guns at John's head and sweating profusely in their seats. John raised his hands a little higher and shrugged.

Cameron was sitting four meters away in the driving seat of his mom's SUV. The SUV was opposite the robbers vehicle blocking any chance of their escape. She'd wound the window down and was now holding her combat knife upright in her outstretched hand. The blade glinted in the midday sun . John thought _even for a terminator she looks really pissed._

" Guy's," he said to the three armed robbers, "look I told you this was a bad idea, what she said on the cell, you know, what she was going to do to you..."

"Man replied the robber with the greasy hair large acne bubble on his left cheek, "I thought we'd debated this, and decided it's like even against the Geneva Convention."

John's cell rang . "Em it's gonna be her again . Do you mind?" He asked ,picking up his cell.

"Now Cameron, come on be reasonable... they're not really bad people, you've frightened them that's all. What do you mean you're exempt from the Geneva Convention, since when?" .. "Oh I see, yes I see."

Sarah's SUV revved again , the torque in the engine rocked it side to side. A pair of eyes flashed red in the cab.

Two hours earlier.

Pineapple chunks had been the last thing on Mrs. Reese's grocery list. Cameron had driven John and toddler Derek out to the Whitewater Tourist Mini-Mart. Derek was securely strapped into the child seat in their cart and they'd been picking up both theirs and the Reese's groceries. It was a normal weekly grocery trip with the added attraction of an adventure playground for little Derek

to run around in after they'd finished their shopping.

For some reason the mini mart was playing a CD looped entirely of Hotel California by The Eagles. Cameron's frown deepened every time she heard it restart .

"John , she asked, "you know this song?"

"Hmm, which one?" John was otherwise engrossed, browsing tinned fruit and related cream- type toppings .

"The one that's playing John."

"Oh that ."

"What does it …" she was about to ask "actually mean," when a sudden movement caught her attention.

"Derek, NO !" She grabbed Derek's' hand a microsecond before his little fingers closed around their intended target. _Damn, 'it' was fast for a human , _Cameron thought_._

Derek had aimed for the pivotal can in the tinned pineapple special offer display pyramid . She held him firmly by the wrist and glared down at him . Unphased by her sudden terminator death- mask, Derek stared back at her . A wisp of what was probably a mischievous smirk flashed across his face.

John turned around with a tin of Pineapple chunks in his hand, oblivious to the developing machine- human confrontation. " Derek you mustn't touch any of these cans " he ordered casually. Derek beamed up at his future general and became extremely excited . He strained against his restraint straps , held out his hands , pleaded with his eyes to be allowed to handle the wondrous metal cylinder John was waving in front of him. Derek's brows furrowed , he kicked his legs against the wire of the cart and bubbles of foam formed on his lips . Obviously some deep cognitive process was opening up in his neurological pathways. Then, Little Derek uttered the second word in his existence. "Can," he said faintly .

"Hey what do you know! " said John proudly handing Derek the tin, "This teaching kids to talk ; it's so easy, why it's just like programming a computer."

"It so is not," retorted Cameron putting her hands on her hips. John noticed the slight scowl dangerously creasing her brow .

"Cameron, I really don't think he is retarded ."

"You don't?"

"No, I think your suggestion earlier that Derek was somehow retarded didn't take into account his new environment and us teaching him language."

John and Cameron watched as Derek's attention suddenly alighted on the label on the tin . He ran his fingers around manically tracing over the image of the pineapple . "Can" he said again, more loudly.

Cameron gave Derek a long look which would have skewered the eyeballs of most mortals not of Reese descent.

"Pine-apple" replied John , " pineapple ,can you say Pineapple, Derek ?"

Clearly Derek couldn't, he seemed to consider it for a moment but the processing required caused his eyes to cross . It was an enormous linguistic task for him and he went back to tracing the fruit on the label.

As Cameron pushed Derek on further down the aisle, he said "can" again, then repeated it a bit louder, until she was pushing what seemed to be a Tourettes-crazed child , pointing at every item of shopping in other people's carts and yelling "can "at them , grinning wildly when he did it. What's more the other shoppers found his new language acquisition skill cute and joined in the game clustering around Cameron's cart and cooing , waving various tins, further encouraging his behaviour.

In the middle of a particularly intense human huddle around her cart , Cameron's cell rang. She gratefully handed control of the cart over to John and walked into the next aisle trying to find better reception.

"Hi ,Mrs. Reese- you want a pound of self raising flour as well, Okay , I'll see what they've got," She said scanning over the shelves, When Cameron turned to look back at where John had been standing ,both he and Derek had gone .

"You can check out any time but you can never leave " Hotel California was reaching its crescendo.

Shoppers had stopped talking and interacting they were standing frozen in a moment of time, their full collective attention fixed on what appeared initially to be two Greyling aliens with human hands . One was pointing a . 38 calibre Smith and Wesson at the checkout boy , the other was fluctuating his aim of a Baretta 12 guage with 23.7cm of its barrels sawn off between Johns' head and Little Derek .

"Empty the goddamn till now, or I'll blow this kid's daddy's head off, " said the gunman though the rubber mask.

No one except John noticed Cameron's eyes flash red. John made the faintest gesture for her to stay back and his hand pointed casually to his jacket pocket so she could see he'd turned on his cell.

"Come on, do it, NOW ! " shouted the robber with the .38, throwing a black holdall at the shocked checkout boy.

Cameron stood back watching the checkout boy loading the holdall . To her relief gunman gripping the Baretta kept his finger on the trigger guard and appeared not to be intending to carry out his threat. It made tactical sense for her to stay back , for now. If he did move his finger off the guard , she decided any semblance of remaining normality was going out straight of the mini mart window and that guy was 'ollowing it.

The checkout boy was obviously in shock , and he'd defaulted to his checkout programing. When he finished loading the holdall with all denominations of dollar bills, to the confusion and surprise of the gunmen, he automatically asked " anything else?"

"Yeah , gimme, er a 200 pack of Marlborough," the one pointing the .38 growled.

"You got any bananas?" inquired he one aiming the Baretta at John.

"Second aisle along ,"the checkout boy replied gesturing with a shaking hand to the fruit section.

"What the hell is it with you and goddamn bananas?" retorted the one with the .38 , "we ain't got no time for bananas, hey gimme that," he said, grabbing a bottle of Southern Comfort. He snatched up the holdall and then spoke the words that sealed his fate , "bring those two now!" He waved his pistol at John and Little Derek." No nobody move, or call the cops for ten minutes, these two are coming with us . If you do call em , the kid's daddy gets it."

John had picked Derek up and was being walked out of the store with a .38 pointing at the back his neck. Cameron followed them to the door and observed as they were bundled into the back of a brown , beaten up Ford Maverick which squealed off in the direction of Red Hills Highway.

The street outside was as empty and echoing as if after a gunshot.

Cameron checked her cell. As he'd indicated in the mart John had activated his GPS. She felt the weight of the keys to Sarah's SUV. They were already out of her pocket in her hand . Walking quickly towards the SUV her mind formed a perfect rendering of the trunk inside Sarah's vehicle . She'd noted earlier there was a large shovel back there and Sarah's spare combat knife was taped under the driver's seat.

"You can check out any time but you can never leave."

Even if the lyrics didn't stand up to semantic scrutiny , she decided it was a very catchy tune as she punched the SUV into drive and released the handbrake .

_Part 2 to follow – What happens between hour 1 and 2. I know Cameron and John will argue a little over the rights and wrongs of the Geneva Convention and finally we discover what the lyrics to Hotel California really mean. _

_Derek gets to say "Pineapple". Oh dear , please don't say that Little Derek!_


End file.
